You’ll have to pay to play Nintendo Switch games online — except for ‘Fortnite’ (NTDOY)

Nintendo’s about to launch its first ever paid online service, Nintendo Switch Online, for $20/year.

The new service is required to play various Switch games online, including “Mario Kart 8 Deluxe” and “Splatoon 2.”

“Fortnite” is apparently excluded — a major exception to a huge shift in playing Nintendo games online.

Nintendo’s upcoming online service forces Switch owners to pay $20/year to play games online.

Enjoy playing “Mario Kart 8 Deluxe” online for free? How about “Splatoon 2?” Enjoy it while you can: When Nintendo Switch Online launches on September 18, those games will no longer work online without a paid account.

There is, however, one major exception: “Fortnite.”

That’s right — the free-to-play smash-hit “Battle Royale” game won’t require the paid online service on the Nintendo Switch. Nintendo announced as much quietly, in an FAQ that CNET discovered on Friday — it specifically calls out “Fortnite” as an exception to Nintendo’s new paid online service requirement.

No other games are included as exceptions, which leaves open some interesting questions: For starters, what other types of games will be able to circumvent the paid service?